I have sweet red peppers growing in Rancho Cero and Jalapeño peppers growing in Ranch One and Ranch Two. Can they cross-pollinate? Yes, they can. Will that result in a hot sweet pepper? No, it won't. Not unless I save the seeds and plant them. A dozen agriculture web sites assure me this is so.
Why was I wondering? I just ate a salad. That salad had, in order from least to most, crispy garlic garnish, crispy jalapeño garnish, parmesan cheese, homemade salad dressing, red pepper from Rancho Cero, diced ham, sweet onion, tomatoes from Phredd, hard cooked eggs, and lettuce. The first bite made it very hard to breathe...
Fine. I may have shaken some black pepper onto the salad a little too liberally. and the onions were a mite strong, and there was that jalapeño garnish. The combination of the three raised the heat factor or the choke quotient or whatever. Also, my dressing is made with one part chili oil to two parts garlic-infused red wine vinegar. That may have contributed, also. It was a very, very good salad.
